Comedy Legend Chris Parnell Talks Exploring a New Side of Jerry in Rick and Morty Season 9 (INTERVIEW)

Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty has plenty of iconic characters, but few are as enduring as Jerry Smith, Morty’s well-meaning but sometimes buffoonish father played by SNL alum Chris Parnell. And in Season 9 so far, we’ve already gotten to see more of Jerry than usual, with episodes like “Jer Bud” and “A Ricker Runs Through It” offering some particularly memorable bits for the character.

We at FandomWire got to speak with comedy legend Chris Parnell about playing Jerry in Rick and Morty, how he approaches the show’s recording sessions, and what we can hope to see from the rest of the season. Check out the full interview here:

Chris Parnell Rick and Morty Interview

So first of all, I have to know… what percent worm are you right now?

Chris Parnell: I’m probably 30% worm. I’m pretty chill, but not out of control. [He laughs.]

So, the past few seasons, we’ve gotten to see a lot more Jerry adventures. So what do you think makes a great Jerry adventure, and do you have a favorite?

Parnell: What makes a great Jerry adventure? I mean, I think putting Jerry in situations that are unusual for Jerry, whether they make him uncomfortable or, in the case of “Jer Bud,” make him super comfortable. But one of the fun things about playing Jerry is that they try different stuff out on me. I mean, they do that with all of us, but you get to play different versions of Jerry — mean Jerry, tough Jerry, emotional Jerry, worm Jerry. It’d be hard to pick a favorite. I mean, I liked “Jer Bud,” that was pretty fun.

Yeah, that seemed like a really fun one to record just because of the range you get to see in the course of like 15 minutes.

Parnell: Yeah, it really was fun to do. And then another one, even though it’s not particularly a Jerry episode, I don’t remember the name, but it was one where Rick is in touch with these cloud beings who can unlock his thing. So I got to be the voice of this cloud being embodied in Jerry, so that was fun to explore. I got to do a lot of crazy vocal stuff with that.

Yeah, and I think that’s something that’s been really interesting about this character in the past few seasons. In the early seasons, the joke was that he was always the same, even across the multiverse, but in the past few seasons, we’ve gotten to see these different sides of the character. So how have you enjoyed getting to explore the growth of this character over the seasons you’ve played him?

Parnell: Oh, I love it. I mean, when the writers want to give me this stuff to do and sort of challenge me, not for the purpose of challenging but the fact that I feel they trust me and know that I can go most anywhere they want to take Jerry, it’s great. It’s a good feeling. And then during the sessions with Scott Marder directing, you know he’s going to get the best performance out of me he can. It’s a pretty idealistic setup.

Over time, this character, who was the butt of the joke, has become a fan favorite. Why do you think fans love Jerry so much, and why do you love Jerry so much?

Parnell: People can relate to Jerry, you know. Jerry’s a bit of a sad sack, and just a normal guy, and he’s got a lot of heart; he cares about his family; he’s got lots of foibles. But I think a lot of people relate to Jerry, certainly more than they do to Rick and perhaps more than Morty. But I just love that I get to be this guy and that I got to be part of this from the beginning and we still get to keep doing it. It’s an ideal job.

I think part of what makes this character so interesting, for me at least, is that he’s one of the more grounded characters in the show, but he gets put into these absolutely outlandish situations. So how do you balance the grounding versus the fantasy of the situation?

Parnell: Well, for Jerry, every situation is going to be real, even if it’s crazy and something he’s never even wrapped his head around before. It’s an acting thing. You just try to be present in the moment in your mind, and you’re sort of picturing what’s going on, and whether that’s Jerry being pretty normal Jerry or Jerry being super cool, and just buying into that as fully as I can and embracing that and trying to be there.

So from that range of full-on sincerity to tongue-in-cheek as an actor, how do you approach these premises?

Parnell: I don’t think there is any [tongue-in-cheek] with Jerry. It’s all sincere. It’s all exactly as he would experience it, hopefully. I don’t think about any of that. It’s just like, “This is what it is. Play it as real as you can.”

During your tenure on SNL, you were known for not breaking character. Do you find it easier or harder when you’re working on Rick and Morty to stay in that character?

Parnell: Oh, it’s easier. I mean, there’s never a temptation to laugh in the moment. I shouldn’t say never — some of the lines are so crazy — but usually I’ll sometimes laugh between takes or laugh when I’m reading it at home, but you’re not here looking into another actor’s eyes and you don’t have them being ridiculously funny. You’re just there in the booth by yourself, picturing things as they play out in your mind, so it’s a lot easier.

A lot of comedy, in terms of the SNL side of things, is about that energy — bouncing off of one another — and when you’re voice acting, you don’t necessarily have that. So I’m curious how you approach that differently?

Parnell: Well, what helps with that is that often Scott Marder will read the scenes with me, and the way I like to do them is that if there’s not too many characters involved, just play the scene with Scott and he sort of does the different voices. So that really helps a lot, and I’m playing off him, and he has a very deep understanding of all the characters and how they speak and all of that. So that’s what I like to go with, and then we’ll go back and we’ll get isolated lines multiple times, but I like getting to play it off Scott. That helps a lot.

There are these stories about improv in Rick and Morty and how that’s shaped things. Are there any things that happened in recording sessions that you really enjoyed that were left on the floor?

Parnell: I’m sure there have been things like that. I am not going to remember them because I just don’t remember that much about the sessions. And then after we record one, I kind of forget it and then I wait to watch it. So that’s part of the fun. The way my mind works is I kind of just forget about it — not entirely — but then when I’m watching it, I’m like, “Oh yeah,” and it’s just so fun to see it come to life.

And there’s not a lot of improvisation. I mean, they certainly give us some leeway to sort of change words around here and there and add a little bit here and there, but it’s so much on the page. It’s so brilliantly written that the idea that I’m going to come in there and come up with some genius alternate line… the chances are slim.

And you mention the experience of getting to watch it, I feel like that has to be interesting with the way these are recorded separately — seeing everything come together. So what’s that experience like for you?

Parnell: Yeah, I’ve just been watching them, and part of the thing I’m left with is just being impressed with my castmates. I’m like, “Damn, they are really good,” because we’re not performing together. It’s like shooting a movie and you’re just on camera by yourself, then everybody else is added and you get to see what they’re doing.

But yeah, I’m constantly like, “Wow, this is such a good cast, and they’re so good at what they do.” It’s fun. I feel proud to be a part of it. And then, obviously, the animation is extraordinary and the music. And the fact that I’ve forgotten it, I’m able to appreciate the story again anew and see it fully realized. It’s very satisfying. It’s very fun. I laugh out loud sometimes. It’s a great feeling. I look forward to it.

I think one of the most impressive things for me about this process as well is the family dynamic that’s been built in the Smiths. Which normally, when you think of a dynamic like that, you think of chemistry. But with you guys recording separately, that’s very different. So how do you guys go about that, or is it just lucky casting?

Parnell: Well, certainly at this point, you have a sense of who the other characters are and how they respond in situations, even though you might not have their specific response yet. You don’t know exactly what they’re going to do, but you have a sense of who they are, so you’re just kind of playing that part out in your mind. And, like I said, when Scott reads the other parts, he does the voices so it makes it a lot easier to buy into, and that is also what creates the rhythm. And then the editing, they put it all together in a way that makes it sound like we’re all in the room talking to each other.

This is not just a big year for you, but a big month, because in addition to Rick and Morty going on, you have The Dink, The Hawk, Breaking Bear. So what excites you about having all this work that’s so different from each other but all so funny coming out at the same time?

Parnell: It’s exciting. It’s a rarity for me. And Stop! That! Train! — I was in that. It’s nice to feel like you’re in a bunch of things so that you know your work can be seen and hopefully enjoyed and hopefully will lead to more work. I’m always hoping somebody will see that and then they’ll be like, “Oh, I see what Parnell can do,” and then think of me for other roles.

And it’s all consistently very funny, no matter what you’re doing. I know this might be a little hard to dance around because you guys are usually recording a little in advance, so without spoilers to the best of your ability, what do you hope to see from Jerry in the future.

Parnell: Well, I think we’ve actually finished recording season 10. I couldn’t tell you much about what it was, even if I wanted to. I’m picturing one episode where Jerry gets very emotional. He’s a different version of himself in another universe. That may be coming up this season.

Rick and Morty airs new episodes on Adult Swim on Sunday at 11pm ET/PT.